Hello dear readers. How about some intergalactic traveling? As part of an assigment I had to make this page about Alien abductions. Just a bit of fun.
It's cool to pick your brain trying to figure out how to market something as bizar as alien abductions. Remember that you always have to try and appeal to people's wallets and conscience.

http://florida-usability.com/aliens/

Wilco's gone Dylan!

I guess it is inevitable, that when you are one of the best poets and songwriters on the planet  you  eventually start to sound like Bob Dylan and the Band. But what the hey, if there's a new Wilco album, I should be the last one to complain.

"Blue sky blue" it's called (the new Wilco album that is). I just listened to it the first time, and the musical part is quite straightforward. IN contrast to the somewhat bombastic dark undertones of the previous album. It's not quite Summerteeth yet, but it's defenitely one for the spring.

So the first track "Either Way" is pure poetry again, in a Dylan style, Jeff sings "Everything has it's plan, either way" and I couldn't agree with him more. "You are my face" recalls the Byrds circa Notorious Byrd Bothers. There's even some alt-country on there in the shape of "Please be patient with me" and "Blue sky blue" (the title track) which sound an awful lot like "Far Far Away".

"Side with the seeds" is another one of those beautiful Wilco songs. Full of arrangements that you only hear in French movies from the late 60's, early 70's.

"What light", the penultimate track, is pure Dylan.
The end track "On and on on" is a worthy ending of another great Wilco album.
The song just oozes beauty. I would not be surprised if it was featured in one of those chickflicks where boy finds girl, boy screws around, girl hates boy, and boy makes good (or one of them dies).

"Blue Sky Blue" may not their best album, but definitely one of the best albums of this year. It'll be relased May 15, 2007.

Listen to Blue Sky Blue at: http://www.wilcoweb.com/

"I will live and well, you will live in me,
until we disappear together in a dream"

We just moved one hour ahead the rest of the world! Well that's what Americans like to think anyay. But yeah, the clocks moved forward here on Sunday, and it looks like this was another unilateral move by the Bush administration.

The main beneficiaries of summertime in Florida are the golf courses, since it stays light an hour longer, golfers can practice their swing an hour longer.

Everyone else is just puzzled about summertime. Or should I say: dazed and confused. This morning there were a lot of zombie-like creatures roaming the streets. People with jaded eyes, jet lagged faces yawning at the sound of the screaming day. It was much like Dawn of the Dead, creatures remembering they had a job finding their way to the workplace, to the mall, to other people's brains.

Ah well, my PC still has the correct time. Think of the power Bill Gates has over you. He could release a critical update and make everyone believe it's later than you think.... Might come in handy one day.

One thing about living in Florida is that you get these public warnings over cable TV. So you finally settled in on the couch with your cuppa enjoying re-runs of 'Judging Amy'; life is good. Suddenly your ideal afternoon break is being ripped apart by a shrieking and ultimately demanding siren followed by a metallic crackling voice coming on tv that gives either a tornado warning, thunderstorm warning or worse. All hell breaks loose... well, at least on TV.

A bit more tranquil will be the lunar eclipse happening tonight.
The earth will cast it's shadow on the moon.
Some dude from the Uni of Miami said in the paper that the spectacle "looks like a thousands sunsets projected on the moon". Can't wait, it supposed to be happening around 6.45pm our time.

So this was the first time I watched the Academy Awards (a.k.a. the Oscars) live on TV. I tried to watch it fully in previous years, but sleep always got the better of me (to be fair, it does come on at 6pm PST, that's like 3 am in Europe...). Anyway, this time I watched it from beginning to end. Personal highlights included James McAvoy's scottish accent, Melissa Etheridge thanking her wife, and of course Ellen Degeneres, who presented the whole thing, pitching her script to oscar winner  Martin Scorcese.

When all was said and done, I was kind of disappointent that Half Nelson didn't win anything. This little gem of a movie certainly deserves something of an award. Without giving away to much, I can tell y'all that it is FAN-TAS-TIC. It stars Ryan Gosling as an inner-city junior high school teacher with a drug habit who forms an unlikely friendship with one of his students after she discovers his secret.

Wonderfully shot, Half Nelson is accompanied by a beautiful soundtrack and awesome acting. If you get the chance to see it, do so. It's out over here on DVD, but I think it might be still playing in the 'better' cinema's in Europe. Read more about it on IMDB.

It was kind of scary and exciting at the same time. The coyote looked at me as I was wondering what kind of animal dared to interrupt my nicotine addiction. Yes folks, I stood transfixed in a deadlock with a wild coyote. The staring game continued for a good 5 minutes before the wild beast went on it's merry way, looking for smaller game. I felt good, I won. Survival of the fittest (cough).

Boy am I glad to back in FLA! After a week of sub-zero temperatures in the mountains of Colorado, it's nice to walk outside in a t-shirt and shorts again. Apart from the coyote, I saw an amazing landscape unfold. I was on skis for the first time in my life, climbed a few hills (well, compared to Florida, even an ant hill is a giant leap for man) and drank a lot of tea. Did I tell you it was freezing?

Pictures at http://photosbyjeroen.fotopic.net/c1214249.html

In a flagrant attempt to get more visitors on my blog, I will let you in on my darkest secret: I AM THE FATHER OF ANNA NICOLE'S BABY!
Ok, this should alert the search engines ;-)  Now can I have my 5 minutes of fame?

If you think celebs have problems determing who the father is of their baby, think of all the poor cats out there.
Did you know kittens' DNA can be made up of more than two parents? In human biology, kids have 50% father and 50% mother DNA. With Cats, this is quite different. A pussycats' egg can be fertilized by several male cats,  resulting in multi colored kittens; cats with white, black and orange fur.

The new Hobe Sound Surf and Skate shop website is launched. Design is all done by yours truly. Take a look and tell me what you think.
The site is all done in layers, except for the image gallery which is a pre-installed PHP photo album. Other than that, I think both me and the Surf shoppers are very happy with the result. I will be tweaking it still, we just have to wait for more user feedback.

Adios!

Ahh, Valentine's Day is coming up. The time to tell the love of your life how much you care. What better way to say it with a nice present. Anyway, there are some great gifts out there. Advertisers go nuts over here. And just when you think your completely lost in the supermarket, it just comes to you. But of course, this is it!



And it's conveniently located next to the "Ale House".

So Rudy Guliani is running for president. As former mayor of NYC he thinks he has the qualifications and skills to do the job. I saw him yesterday on Fox News (yes, I know) and I have to say I was quite impressed. As a republican, he is quite moderate. He has a very good understanding  of most issues and seems to understand the bigger picture, something a lot of Americans don't seem to be able to grasp. On the other hand, by not being so black and white on  most issues, I fear he will not get the republican party to back him.

He's pro-choice, although opposed to gay marriage, he is open to gay marriage alternatives, he supports the 2nd amendment (the right to bear arms) but isn't afraid to restrict that right when the need arises.

I am sure most of you don't want to see another republican in the house but what's the alternative? Hillary is way too left wing for most Americans. She would do well in Scandinavia or France. I don't think America is ready for a woman president, especially one that is left wing.

Of course we all have to wait and see what will happen. But an election with Rudy and Hillary is something to get very excited about.